Exploring France This Summer

The South of France is an interesting destination during the summer months. Revered for its luxury resorts, and typically laid back aura, the beaches are generally pristine and vineyards of Bordeaux are plentiful. While Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world, welcoming millions of tourists each year to its northern region of the country.

Though this summer will be slightly different for a host of reasons. Starting mid-June, the European Championships will be held in France and it is set to give the French tourism industry an almighty spike in the amount of visitors that head to the country.

On June 10, France will welcome Romania to the Stade de Paris for the first official match of this year’s European Championships. The other cities scheduled to hold matches in the tournament are Lyon, Lens, Bordeaux, Marseille, Toulouse, Sainte Etienne and Nice reports the BBC. Thus, for football fans, scouring the country and witnessing European’s football elite this summer, it will be a once in a lifetime experience.

Thousands upon thousands of European football fans will descend upon Paris et al. this summer. Some will adopt a conventional approach to accommodation, seeking out the best hotels and bed and breakfasts to stay at, while others will rent out campervans and drive across the French border for an altogether different sort of road trip.

However, the harsh reality is only a proportion of the people applying for tickets actually managed to get their hands on them to see their nation play in this year’s tournament. In fact, The Mirror forecasts half of the fans that travel to France from UK will so without actually having a physical ticket to watch any of the games.

If you did, then its imperative you get up to speed with what are the best caravan and camping spots near each major city. Luckily, news websites such as The Independent have published extensive guides to help travellers source the best in budget accommodation options.

The Euros is set to be a wonderful spectacle in which many countries pose a chance of winning this prestigious tournament. If you are an England fan, then the chances are you’ll get the chance to see captain Wayne Rooney in action as Betfair football correspondent and European Championship columnist Ralph Ellis says the England and Manchester United captain will feature heavily this summer. Also expected to have a huge impact is Portugal and Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo, Germany and Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller and Wales and Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale.